Henri Pierre-Jacques (Harlem Capital) - His mission to invest in 1,000 diverse founders over 20 years

The Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands

My guest today is Henri Pierre-Jacques, Managing Partner at Harlem Capital. Harlem Capital is a venture capital firm on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship by investing in 1,000 diverse founders over 20 years. Some of their investments include Aunt Flow, Blavity, and Repeat. We discuss how to think about impact and opportunity in the early stages of investing, Harlem's thesis and why Harlem wants to be a multi-stage investment firm.

And there you have it. It was a pleasure chatting with Henri. Highly recommend following him on Twitter @hpierrejacques

Here are some of the questions I ask Henri:

1. What made you want to transition from private equity to venture capital?
2. Why did you choose to start your own fund instead of joining a fund?
3. How did Harlem Capital come together?
4. What was your process when it came to raising your first fund?
5. What were some of the reasons why investors passed?
6. What is some of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to emerging managers?
7. How do you describe Harlem Capital's focus area?
8. What are some of the particular consumer trends that you are excited about?
9. Why do you think fund 1 and fund 2 outperform?
10. What is your fund model do you tend to be more concentrated or more spray and prey?
11. Do you consider yourself more of a thematic or opportunistic investor? Why?
12. The number of founders who happen to be women or people of color that are venture-backed is extremely low - to say the least. In your years working in venture capital do you see this starting to change on the ground level?
13. We talk about how to receive real change
14. I believe you recently moved to Miami. What has the venture scene been like? What are your impressions on the startup community?
15. What were your biggest learnings from COVID?
16. What's one thing you would change about venture capital?
17. What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?
18. What's one piece of advice for founders?
19. What's the best piece of advice that you've received?